Wild Geranium Seeds

In late April or early May, the Wild Geraniums (Geranium maculatum) up here on the mountain are beginning to show off their sweet, rich, pink. The blooming lasts for about a beautiful month.

Though the plant continues the show without the dramatic color, still the show goes on. This the beak-like fruit of the flower is just the beginning of the finale.

And this, what I consider to be the grand finale. One flowering season of the Wild Geranium, a herbaceous perennial at the edge of trails here in the woods, coming to an end. Slender carpels of this fruit quickly curl up and back in order to fling their seeds. Here, like a gleeful child as if saying, “Ta DAA!” each of the seed cups now is empty. Their impressive mission complete.

Published by

Brenda Clements Jones

Brenda is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist, a Habitat Defender for Shenandoah National Park, and a devoted fan of Mother Nature. She lives in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah National Park, and hikes up to the higher elevations of her mountain often to see what nature is up to. Her constant hiking companion is a camera that captures nature as it unfolds through the seasons. It’s her goal to share the natural world around her through her photographs.